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Rebirth. Rejuvenation. Re-recreation. Rarity Cole stared into the blue water lapping at her feet and wondered what word any of the multiple books in her shop would use for this moment in her life. If the book was a romance, she’d be facing a second chance. But her new life here was more than another chance at love. It was a reawakening of every part of her life. Career, love, friends, she’d even changed her scenery by moving from the Midwest to Se dona, Arizona.

Even the structure and activities of her days had changed. Currently, she sat on the edge of her backyard swimming pool, a luxury she’d only dreamed of when she was climbing the corporate ladder in the marketing department of a midlevel production corporation in St. Louis. Since the weather had turned perfect last weekend, she’d gone on several hikes with Archer every day since Friday.

Now, the calendar weekend was over and it was Monday, the second day of her actual weekend. Rarity had the entire day off even with the store being open. Her employees, Shirley Prescott and Katie Dickenson, took turns running the bookstore on Mondays starting the first of March. Now Rarity had a real two-day weekend for the first time since opening the Next Chapter. She felt like she was back working in corporate marketing. At the table this morning, she’d started making a list of to-dos but realized nothing else would happen if she didn’t get her swim marked off the list.

“Workout first,” she muttered. That had been her motto since January, matching up with one of her resolutions. She felt better when she moved first thing in the morning. She believed in the power of goals. They’d gotten her through her stint of treatment for breast cancer. And the complete overhaul of her life afterward. She’d moved fourteen hundred miles from St. Louis to Sedona. She quit her corporate job and bought a bookstore. And she broke up with Kevin. The man who was supposed to be her future husband thought she wasn’t fun enough when she was fighting for her life.

Okay, truthfully, Kevin had broken up with her, but either way, it had been a big life change. Four changes on the list of top stressors according to the mag azine articles.

Today, she lived in a three-bedroom cottage in Arizona with a pool she used year-round. She loved running the bookstore and hadn’t worn a business suit to work in months. She had a new boyfriend, Archer Ender, who was planning on moving in with her next month. And s he had a baby.

Oh, not a human baby. She had adopted Killer, a tiny Yorkie with a huge attitude. And an even bigger heart.

The baby in question, Killer, was sitting on the side of the pool watching the water and the yellow ducky float that also served as a way to disperse chemicals. Rarity leaned down, kissed the pup on top of his head, and then dove i nto the water.

When she finished her laps and climbed out, her phone was ringing. She hurried over to the deck table where she’d left the phone to answer the call. Looking at the display, she smiled and said, “Hey baby, how are you?”

“Baby, huh?” Archer s ounded amused.

“I figured I needed to increase my sweet talk since we are moving our relationship to a new level.” Rarity wrapped a towel around herself and sat at the table, letting herself air-dry. She took off her swim cap, running her fingers through her hair. Killer had followed her up on the deck and now lay near the French door that led t o the kitchen.

“Okay, I guess it works. I called to let you know I got a late afternoon hike today, so dinner’s out. Sorry.” Archer soun ded distracted.

“Do you want to move it to a later time?” Rarity asked.

A pause on the other end of the line made her think she’d lost him. She glanced at the display but the call was still active. “Archer? A re you there?”

“I’m here. Sorry, I’m slammed. I can’t make it later either. Look, I’ll see you Tuesday night after your book club. We’ll talk then.” Archer ended the call without s aying goodbye.

Rarity set down the phone and looked at Killer. “Maybe using the term ‘baby’ was too much. Your friend Archer is being weird.”

Killer stood and barke d at the door.

“Ready to go in?” Rarity asked, standing. Killer wasn’t interested in the affairs of humans. On the other hand, she hadn’t fed him yet. “You probably want so me breakfast.”

Killer barked again and ra n in a circle.

“I’ve got a lot of things to do anyway.” Rarity wished she’d said that to Archer, but she wasn’t used to playing games with him. If he was too busy to see her, there was a good reason. She had to believe him. He wasn’t Kevin.

* * *

Later that afternoon, she’d come back from a grocery run to Flagstaff when someone knocked at her do or. “Come in.”

Terrance Oldman, her neighbor, poked his head in the door. Terrance had lived in the house next door since before she’d moved to Sedona. He was a retired military guy who never had time for a family. So now he treated Rarity as his long-lost daughter. “Hey, Rarity. I saw you pull in. Did you get me some of those spicy sausages f rom the store?”

She held the meat up for inspection. “Two packages, like you asked. I could have broug ht them over.”

“I thought I’d come over and see if I can be helpful.” He tucked the sausages into an empty bag, then grabbed the milk and juice and put them away in her refrigerator. They worked that way together in silence until all the groceries were put away. “I have to say since you moved in, you’ve been challenging me to clean up my eating habits. I made soup and a sandwich at home last night instead of ordering pizza, and I had a salad instead of french fries yesterday when I met the neighborhood watch guys for lunch. Of course, most of them did too. I’m the last confirmed bachelor in the bunch.”

“Next you’ll tell me you’re eating kale,” Rarity joked as she folded one of her reusable grocery bags. She wondered if Shirley had influenced the way Terrance saw food during their last few months together as friends. But she wasn’t bringing that c an of worms up.

“Now, don’t go all crazy on me.” He held his hands up to ward off the idea of the green, l eafy vegetable.

Rarity left the salmon on the counter. She wanted to make a spice rub for it before she put it away. “I’m planning on grilling tonight if you don’t have dinner plans.”

“I thought Mondays were date night with your guy?” Terrance sat down at the table. He’d pulled out sodas from the fridge as they’d finished putting the food away, one for him an d one for her.

“Archer’s busy tonight.” She hoped the hurt wouldn’t sound in her words. She wasn’t sure why his calling off dinner had hit a nerve, but it had. Probably a leftover Kevin issue. “I decided to cook. I’m doing a risotto wit h the salmon.”

“Sorry, my dance card’s full. The guys down at the vet hall have a standing poker game. We play on Mondays so Drew can attend. If you have a police officer sitting down with you, you’re less likely to be busted for illegal gambling.” Terrance tried to look innocent. It wasn’t working.

“You’re so bad.” Rarity smiled despite herself. “Hey, can you watch Killer for me tomorrow? It’s boo k club night.”

“Of course. We’ll go over to my house and watch a movie. He’s partial to Marvel superheroes and you only have channels that feature DC superheroes.” Terrance leaned down and picked Killer up with one hand and put the dog on his lap. “You can retrieve him anytime your club’s over.”

“As long as I’m not interrupting your bonding time,” Rarity clarified. She pulled out a cookbook she’d brought home from the bookstore and flipped through it until she found the rub recipe she’d been thinking about. “I haven’t seen a lot of you these last few weeks. Staying cool inside?”

“I have a job.” Terrance rubbed Killer’s neck and the little dog melted into him. “And I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Really. The neighborhood watch wasn’t keeping you busy enough? Or have you gone to the dark side and started bouncing at the veterans hall?” Terrance patrolled the neighborhood with a bunch of retirees who called themselves the Gray Patrol. Break-ins had dropped to almost zero in their neighborhood. Drew Anderson was using the group as an example to other neighborhoods on how to lower crime. It didn’t hurt that most of the guys in Terrance’s patrol team were ex-military who had come to Sedona for the rest when they’d retired. Then they’d gotten bored.

“I wanted a little more to do. Something to use my security skills.” He didn’t look up at her as he continued. “Don’t freak out, but I’m working over at Sedona Memory Care. They’ve been having trouble keeping their security system going. Someone keeps turning it off, so I’m ther e to stop it.”

“Sedona Memory Care. Where George lives?” George Prescott was Shirley’s husband and a patient. He’d forgotten most of their life together now, but Shirley still visited almost daily. Rarity knew Sedona was a small town, but this was pushing the line. “A re you crazy?”

“Rarity, I swear this isn’t because of Shirley. Or if it is, it’s for her. If George gets out and hurts himself or others, she’ll be devastated. I can’t turn my back on this. They need me.” Now he looked up and met her eyes. “Besides, he’s fighting with the assistant director. George seems to respond to me. W e’re friends.”

Rarity stared at Terrance. She saw the pain in his eyes. “You realize that’s all kinds of messed up.”

Terrance was in love with Shirley. They’d started hanging out last fall, but she’d ended their friendship when Terrance made it clear he wanted more. Being married to George who was still alive, but not mentally there anymore due to his dementia, Shirley couldn’t deal with the feelings she was having for another man. It felt like cheating. Even though they hadn’t done anything physical, including a good-night kiss. In Shirley’s mind, she was married. And that was that.

Now, Terrance was not only working at the nursing home where George lived, but he’d also developed a friendship with the man. Shirley was going to kill Terrance.

“I know, but I can’t step away now. The nursing home needs me to find out why their systems aren’t working before someone winds up missing or worse.” Terrance turned his soda can in a circle. “And when he remembers who I am, George is kind of a cool guy. I can see why Shirley loves him. In another life, we’ d be friends.”

“Oh, Terrance. That’s so sad.” Rarity squeezed his hand. “Do you want to t alk about it?”

He stood, draining his soda as he did. “Nope. I’ve got laundry to finish before I head out to the game. At least having a real job again keeps me busy. I’m going to grill a couple of these bad boys for dinner before I go. Sorry I couldn’t fill in for you r guy tonight.”

“No worries. I haven’t finished the book club selection for tomorrow yet anyway. I need to at least skim the rest of it before we meet. Shirley’s caught me not reading the book too many times.” Rarity walked him to the door and watched out the window as he crossed the lawn between the two houses. Terrance Oldman was a good man, but he was playing with fire with this one. Hopefully, he’d fix the security system before Shirley found out her kind-of boyfriend was hanging with her husband at the nursing home. Otherwise , Rarity thought, Terrance was going to get an earful .

Shirley could be opinionated and strong willed. An d easily hurt.

Rarity returned to the to-do list she’d created this morning. She’d already crossed off shopping and a swim. Rarity’s finger stopped at cleaning the house and then looked at the next item, finishing the book. She went to the bedroom to strip the sheets so she could get them in the laundry. Cleaning needed to be done. She was in a bad mood anyway. She might as well make t he best of it.

* * *

The next morning, she arrived at the bookstore a few minutes before nine. Without Killer to walk with her, she was able to leave the house a little later. As they walked, the dog always had to stop for a smell, or a hundred. The two businesses on each side of her store, Madame Zelda’s fortune-telling and Sam’s crystal shop, weren’t open yet. Drop-in traffic didn’t start until late morning, sometimes until after lunch, especially during the firs t of the week.

Katie Dickenson hurried down the path and followed her into the bookstore. Katie was working on her master’s at Northern Arizona in Flagstaff, but a lot of her classes were in the evening so she had time to work at the bookstore. “Hey, I was hoping to get here first. The store was slammed yesterday. I didn’t get all the closing tasks done before I had to leave for class. I hope yo u’re not mad.”

“I’m not mad, but you could have called me.” Rarity held the door open for her. “You would have saved me from clean ing my house.”

“I figured you were out with Archer. I saw his truck go by the shop at about three yesterday. Didn’t you gu ys go hiking?”

Rarity started turning on the lights. “We went on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. My calves are killing me. But I was home alone on Monday, well, besides a trip to the grocery store. Next time you get swamped, call me. If I can’t come in, I ’ll tell you.”

“Sounds reasonable. Anyway, the kids must have been out of school because I had several families who showed up after lunch. We need to seriously restock the children’s book section. I think they might have emptied it.” Katie tucked her bag under the counter and opened an energy drink. “Where do you want me first? Unpacking the boxes that came in? Or starting a book order?”

“Let’s get everything out of boxes and on the shelves before we start the book order.” Rarity looked around the bookstore. It looked normal, but she knew Katie was particular like her. She liked things to look perfect. Rarity only stressed about the doors being locked when she left. She’d put the store’s temperature gauge on a timer, so that was automatic now. “How are t he bathrooms?”

“Honestly, I didn’t check.” Katie brought out a box of books. “Do you want me to go clean first?”

“No, I’ll do it. Keep an eye on the register while you’re checking these in. I doubt we get any walk-ins this early, but you never know.” Rarity went to the back room and pulled out the cleaning supplies, including a mop bucket, which she filled with hot, soapy water from the sink. She moved to the men’s first and quickly got that room cleaned and mopped. She propped the door open and taped a “Wet Floor” sign on the doorjamb.

When she went into the women’s restroom, she found a book on the wash counter. She grumbled at the long-gone reader. “You couldn’t see the ‘Please Don’t Bring Books into the La vatory’ sign?”

She walked out to set the book on a table while she finished cleaning. The book looked like it was in bad shape, definitely not new. Maybe someone had forgott en their copy.

Rarity ignored the book and finished cleaning. After she’d taken the trash outside to the dumpster and drained, cleaned, and put away the mop and other cleaners, she went back to the front.

Katie was standing at the counter, looking at the book Rarity had found in the bathroom.

“So what is that?” Rarity logged in to her system.

“The book? It was on the table. There’s an inscription on the front page. ‘To my best friend Alice, I hope you enjoy Alice’s adventures as much as I have over the years.’” Katie held the book open and showed it to Rarity. “This might be a first edition of Alice’s Adventures i n Wonderland .”

“I found it in the bathroom. No one would leave a book that valuable in the bathroom at a bookstore.” Rarity reached for the book and checked the copyright page. 1865. “If this is right, the book could be worth a lot of money.”

“Like thousands? ” Katie asked.

Rarity checked the binding and the outside of the book. “Maybe even more. Let’s set this aside and see if anyone comes to claim it. They should know the inscription if they own the book.” She tucked it under the counter so it wouldn ’t get damaged.

“This is so exciting. I’ve never touched a rare book before.” Katie grabbed a pile of books that needed to be shelved.

Rarity went about her day, but the book kept nagging at her. Maybe she had another mystery for the sleuthing group to solve. And for the first time, this one wouldn’t involv e a dead body.

That night at the book club they were talking about The Spy Coast by Tess Gerritsen. Holly Harper had suggested the book, and the conversation around it was gettin g interesting.

“I don’t think it portrays old people in a bad light.” Holly countered a statement that Shirley had made. “The main character is almost in a relationship with her farmer neighbor. Or she would be if she’d get over losing her husband decades ago.”

“Sometimes, people don’t get over those things,” Shirley responded. “But I guess I wondered why a bunch of spies would settle in a small Maine community. It didn’t se em realistic.”

“Did you read the author’s notes in the back? She lived in a town where that exact thing happened. I guess if Thanos can have a retirement plan, so can James Bond.” Malia Overstreet jumped into the discussion. “I liked it, but it was hard to follow why the one woman was running in the first place.”

“I think the author added that character to give you more than one person to focus on.” Rarity hadn’t liked the opening scene to not be focused on the main character either. “What did you think of the local police chief?”

“I would have solved the murder before I let that jerk from the state police take over,” Sa m Aarons said.

“Sometimes that’s not an option.” Jonathon Anderson was in town and had called to see what the group was reading. He was an ex-cop who had started in Sedona then moved to NYC to work when his kids got out of high school. Now, he and his wife, Edith, were back in Arizona, living in Tucson near their daughter and only grandchild. His other child, Drew Anderson, was a detective there in Sedona and was dating Sam. Again. “When a different agency with jurisdiction over a crime steps in, you have to step back and let them work. And that characte r was a jerk.”

Sam smiled sweetly at Jonathon. “I’m so gl ad you agree.”

Rarity heard the challenge in Sam’s voice and held up her hand. Things hadn’t been going well with her friend and her boyfriend’s parents. “Okay, let’s take a short break and then we’ll finish this up and choose nex t week’s book.”

Sam bolted for the ladies’ room, and Jonathon moved toward Rarity. “Maybe I shouldn’t have come. It seems like Sam’s sti ll mad at me.”

“She’ll get over it. She was the one who wasn’t sure if she wanted to continue her relationship with Drew. The fact that Edith set him up on a blind date when he visited you guys in Tucson wasn’t your fault. I know she wants the best for him.” Rarity had heard the story from Sam one night when she’d come over with a bottle of wine.

Jonathon chuckled. “I have to disagree. Edith wants more grandchildren. If she’d known Sam and Drew had started seeing each other again, she wouldn’t have invited Heather to dinner. Drew keeps his relationship status close to his chest. I need to go say hi to Shirley and see how Geo rge is doing.”

Rarity watched as he made his way over to the treat table where Shirley was getting more cookies out of a plastic carrier. The woman could bake. She thought about going to talk to Sam, but she decided to stay out of it. Drew and Sam were dating again. She didn’t wa nt to jinx it.

After they’d finished the meeting, everyone but Shirley had left the bookstore by the time Archer arrived. He helped Shirley carry her things out to her car, and when he came back inside, Rarity was ready to lock up. She had put the rare book into her safe since no one had come by to claim it today. Maybe she’d put a sign up on the community bu lletin boards.

She came out of the back room after checking the lock and kissed Archer. “I thought they’d never leave.”

He pushed her hair out of her eyes and took her keys. “Are you ready to go?”

“Killer’s at Terrance’s so we need to stop on the way home and get him. Are you staying for supper? I have some clam chowder in the fridge.” Rarity hoisted her tote over her shoulder and followe d him outside.

“I’m not sure. Look, we need to talk.” Archer locked the door and handed her back the keys. “I’m not sure that I should mov e in with you.”